Lab

MEDΦ Laboratory (Molecular Events & Design of Pharmaceuticals)


About the lab

Our research focuses on the search for new drugs for the treatment of the most important diseases of the XXI century. Using numerical tools, we are looking for answers about the functioning of selected molecular mechanisms. The cell membrane and its transporters are our special target. Since 2014, we have been working on dedicated inhibitors of glucose transporters for anti-cancer therapies. And since 2016, we are also looking for detergents that selectively dissolve bacterial cell membranes. In connection with these topics, we are working on membrane proteins and lipid membrane mechanics, in the broadly understood field of Biomedical Engineering.

Featured research (1)

Faced with the worldwide spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, together with a lack of any appropriate treatment, urgent steps to combat infectious diseases should be taken. Usually, bacterial components are studied to understand, by analogy, the functioning of human proteins. However, molecular data from bacteria gathered over the past decades provide a sound basis for the search for novel approaches in medical care. With this current work, we want to direct attention to inhibition of the vSGLT glucose transporter from Vibrio parahaemolyticus belonging to the sodium solute symporter (SSS) family, to block sugar transport into the bacterial cell and, as a consequence, to limit its growth. Potential bacteriostatic properties can be drawn from commercially available drugs developed for human diseases. This goal can also be reached with natural components from traditional herbal medicine. The presented data from the numerical analysis of 44 known inhibitors of sodium glucose symporters shed light on potential novel approaches in fighting Gram-negative multidrug-resistant microorganisms.

Lab head

Sebastian Kraszewski
Department
  • Department of Biomedical Engineering
About Sebastian Kraszewski
  • Sebastian Kraszewski currently works at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, FFPT, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. Sebastian does research in Molecular Physics, Computational Physics and Biophysics to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of cancer.

Members (5)

Dominik Drabik
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Mateusz Rzycki
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Daniel Wiczew
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Nadhiri Kaijage
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Beata Borysiuk
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology

Alumni (7)

Michał Adam Michałowski
  • Wroclaw Medical University
Beata Hanus-Lorenz
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Kamila Szostak
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Witold Szczurek
  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology